Re: Arkat and troll illumination

From: Jeff <richaje_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 14:54:45 -0000

> I, on the other hand, am quite convinced that trolls can be illuminated.
> Otherwise it would not present any kind of issue to them. I do agree that
> "illumination" is largely irrelevant to trolls. Just because the word humans
> use for the spiritual process of "illumination" happens to be (in English) a
> synonym for "light" is a historic happenstance.

I agree with Sandy - all sentients are capable of having that spiritual release transcending the normal limits of an individual's perceptions we call "Illumination". I know of at least one troll who was Illuminated - Arkat Kingtroll - and I suspect there have been many more.

> Illumination is a spiritual event, not an eye-related one. I
> actually suspect rather strongly that practically all Mistress Race trolls
> alive today are illuminated.

More broadly, more than a few Gloranthan Heroes were Illuminated - including a few that might be very surprising. That being said, not all Illuminates make the errors Arkat the Destroyer attributed to Nysalor - the temptation of Chaos, the false parallel between ones personal ethics and personal desires, and the refusal to acknowledge natural constraints on one's actions.

Jeff